Surging Islanders Overpower the Rangers at Home

Mikhail Grabovski, center, after scoring in the first period. He was pressed into action on the Islanders’ top line in place of the injured Kyle Okposo.CreditCreditBruce Bennett/Getty Images

By Allan Kreda

Jan. 27, 2015

UNIONDALE, N.Y. — The first-place Islanders have had the upper hand over the Rangers this season. The teams had met twice, at Madison Square Garden, and the Islanders came away with victories both times.

On Tuesday, the site changed, but the outcome was the same.

Mikhail Grabovski — pressed into action on the Islanders’ top line in place of the injured Kyle Okposo — scored the opening goal, and Jaroslav Halak made 40 saves for his 26th win of the season as the Islanders dominated the Rangers, 4-1, at a boisterous Nassau Coliseum, the rink they will depart next season for Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Grabovski returned after missing five games with a lower-body injury and skated with John Tavares and Josh Bailey. He tapped a rebound past Henrik Lundqvist at 18 minutes 5 seconds of the first period, completing a pretty tic-tac-toe setup by Bailey and Johnny Boychuk, who leads Islanders defensemen with 20 assists.

“We played well at both ends of the ice,” Halak said. “We created chances and played a strong game. And Mikhail came up big for us.”

The offensively gifted but often mercurial Grabovski was one of General Manager Garth Snow’s key free-agent additions last summer, along with his fellow forward Nikolay Kulemin and Halak.

Matt Martin made the score 2-0 for the Islanders at 4:11 of the second with his seventh goal of the season, with assists from his linemates Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas. Ryan Strome and Tavares scored third-period goals to cement the victory for the Islanders (32-14-1), who sit atop the Eastern Conference. The Rangers (27-14-4) are in sixth place.

“Winning games like this is what good teams do,” Islanders Coach Jack Capuano said. “They played hard, and we managed the game well. That’s the system we have to play.”

Carl Hagelin scored with 10 seconds left in the game to spoil Halak’s shutout bid as the Rangers lost for only the fourth time in their last 20 games.

The pressure-filled contest between the longtime local foes was waged after a snowstorm struck Long Island late Monday and early Tuesday. With dueling chants of “Let’s Go, Islanders” and “Let’s Go, Rangers,” the Coliseum was electric throughout the game, though there were pockets of vacant seats.

The early pace was furious, with end-to-end rushes by both teams and few whistles. The Islanders, who beat the Rangers by 6-3 on Oct. 14 and by 3-0 two weeks ago at the Garden, had a 17-10 shots advantage after the opening period. The Rangers outshot the home team by 18-11 in the second but couldn’t solve the steady Halak. In the third, the Islanders continued their relentless attack while the Rangers mounted little against Halak.

Fans serenaded Lundqvist with derisive chants of “Henrik, Henrik” after Strome’s goal and for the remainder of the game.

“A loss is a loss,” Lundqvist said. “It’s disappointing because they outplayed us. They have a lot of good players, and when they get the game in their direction, they are tough to stop.”

The Islanders were without one of the their best players, Okposo, who has 14 goals, the second most on the team behind Tavares (22). Okposo will miss six to eight weeks with an upper-body injury, and replacing him will present a significant challenge.

“Kyle won’t be easy to replace, but we have to keep working hard,” Halak said. “Tonight the guys really stepped up. We have to keep doing that.”

The Islanders are setting a scorching pace; they are 13-4-1 in their last 18 games and 16-2-0 against division foes, including a perfect 10-0-0 at home. Last season they finished last in the Metropolitan Division.

“The atmosphere in our building is tremendous,” Capuano added. “Our passionate fans are big part of our success.”

The Rangers next face the Montreal Canadiens at the Garden on Thursday.

With a 17-4-0 record this season at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders have already easily surpassed last season’s total of 13 victories. And their schedule appears favorable, with 20 of their remaining 35 games at home starting with the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

SLAP SHOTS

The teams will meet Feb. 16 and March 10 at Nassau Coliseum. ... The Rangers scratched defenseman John Moore and forward Lee Stempniak, while the Islanders scratched defenseman Matt Donovan and were missing the injured defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky.